


Twenty-Two

by ficsandscribbles (fictionalwhims)



Category: New Girl
Genre: AU, College AU, F/M, Friendship, Growing Up, Minor Angst, Romance, major fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-06
Updated: 2016-03-18
Packaged: 2018-05-25 01:59:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6175894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fictionalwhims/pseuds/ficsandscribbles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>College AU! Jess is studying law at UCLA, but all she's ever wanted is to be a teacher. Her best friend is breaking out as a model and her boyfriend is a sexy med student, but she still feels like something is wrong. When she meets fellow law student Nick Miller, he encourages her to follow her passion. Is she ready to go after what she wants? And does that include him?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The title of this fic is definitely borrowed from the Taylor Swift song "22," because I love the scene from 2.16 when Nick dances to it...but also because it fits what Jess is going through in this story.

  
**Twenty-Two.**  
Chapter One.

Jessica Day was twenty-one, about to start her third year of law school at UCLA, and miserable.

She wasn't miserable as a regular rule. In fact, she'd been voted Person Most Likely To Cheer You Up all four years of high school, a title she was still proud of (Cece thought they should leave high school behind them, but Jess couldn't help it). It was just…law school. It was killing her. It wasn't that she wasn't smart enough, or driven enough – she was one of the best 2Ls last year. She was clever, organized, and outgoing. She had everything she needed to be a successful lawyer. She also had the greatest, most beautiful best friend in the world in Cece, and she was living in glamorous, beautiful Los Angeles.

She was miserable because she did not want to become a lawyer. At all.

At this point, it was probably too late to switch majors without setting herself way back, and of course she couldn't afford the extra semesters she'd need to graduate with anything other than a law degree…but she just couldn't imagine herself working at some firm, spending all of her time digging through people's worst baggage or else helping companies get out of being sued for insane amounts of money.

Her whole life, she'd wanted to work with kids. Or have kids. Or both. It didn't really matter, so long as kids were in the picture. She'd just assumed that she'd be a teacher or run a day care. But when it had come time to apply to college, her father had been very firm: his little girl was far too smart to slave away for terrible pay and sub-par healthcare. Nothing she'd said had swayed him, and weeks of tears hadn't changed his mind either. So in the end, desperate for his help to pay for college, she'd accepted his terms: pre-law or medical school.

Which left her in her present predicament.

It wasn't all bad, of course. She lived with Cece in an apartment not far from campus. Cece had already been a model for three years and was doing pretty well for herself. Her model friends often crashed too, and while Jess didn't exactly fit in with that crowd, she had to admit that she was learning a lot about fake eyelashes and fashionable footwear from them. Plus her boyfriend Sam was tall, gorgeous and in his last year of UCLA's medical school.

She took a deep breath and shoved her misgivings aside. Nothing in her life was that bad, she just needed to find a different way to look at it. She wasn't sure how she was going to do that yet, but it would come to her. Jessica Day was never down for long, no ma'am.

She hummed to herself, trying to perk up as she entered her lecture hall and found a seat. She just had to make it through this class and then she could hang out with Cece or, even better, make out with Sam.

The lecture hall wasn't anywhere near full by the time the professor strode in. At this point, many of the students she'd started with had disappeared, just as her teachers had predicted they would. And others had moved on into different specialties. Jess had decided to focus on General law, but Business law was a particularly popular choice, at least for the other 3Ls this year.

The professor had been talking to them for about ten minutes when the door behind Jess opened. Someone was late, and while the professor didn't seem to be bothered, several of the other students glanced up curiously. A young man strode in without a shred of apology for his tardiness. He'd managed to look slightly disheveled even though his clothes were simple and neat. He had stubble and sleepy eyes, and he looked about as bored with this whole law-school routine as Jess felt. She recognized him, although they'd never spoken. He was Nick Miller, kind of the bad-boy of their year, and she knew a few of the girls in class had die-hard crushes on him.

He slid into a seat in her aisle, leaving a couple of empty chairs between them, and settled in for the lecture without even bothering to pull out his notes. Jess thought about offering him hers so he could catch up, but decided against it. He didn't look like he was too concerned about it. She pulled her eyes away from him, straightened her shoulders, and tried to focus on the professor. Focus didn't last too long, however. She'd never been this close to Nick Miller before, and she peeked at him again. She could see now why the girls in her class liked him. He had that kind of sexy-without-trying thing going on, and he gave off this _vibe_ , like he had everything figured out already and he was just going through the motions.

He glanced at her, caught her staring, and gave her a quick smirk. A blush immediately flooded her cheeks and she whipped her head forward again. What was _wrong_ with her? Why couldn't she focus today? And what would Sam say if he could see her ogling some unimpressed law student?

She pictured her boyfriend's handsome face, especially that big smile of his, and didn't look at Nick again throughout the rest of the lecture.

**-22-**

By the time class was over, Jess thought she was ready to scale the walls of the lecture hall using her fingernails. She burst out of the room into the bright sunlight, breathing in deeply. She wouldn't exactly call the air in Los Angeles _fresh_ , but it was nice to be outside again. It was another perfect day, and she tilted her head back to feel the sun on her face.

A hand came down on her shoulder, causing her to jump. Her eyes flew open and she turned to see Nick Miller standing just behind her. She blushed again, wondering what he must think of her after catching her staring and then sunning herself like a cat.

"You left this in there." He was holding out one of her books. She scooped it out of his hands.

"Oh, uh, thanks—"

"Don't blame you for wanting to get the hell out of there," he said, studying her face without shame. He had a slight accent she couldn't quite place.

"Yeah. Boring, right? _Mr Peters is soooooo dullllllll_ ," she sang, and then clamped her mouth shut when he stared at her in confusion. She reminded herself that not everyone burst into song at the slightest provocation, and if there was anyone less likely to join in a musical refrain than Nick Miller, she couldn't think of them.

"Right." He shook his head, and he must have hit his weird limit because he fell silent after that. "Well, uh. Glad I caught you. See you around."

"Definitely. Because we're both in this class. So I'll see you soon. I have a boyfriend named Sam." Why couldn't she stop rambling? She could feel how wide her eyes had gotten and she somehow managed to shut up.

Nick surprised her by laughing. "Yeah, okay. See you soon, Sam's girlfriend," he said, and then he turned and strode away.

"I'm…Jess," she murmured as he walked away, thinking she probably should have led with that instead of the singing. With a big sigh, she tucked her book into her bag and headed for the parking lot. She was definitely ready for some drinks and hopefully some hot make-out action with Sam.

**-22-**

Cece was already home when Jessica walked through the door, dumping all of her bags onto the ground and then rushing to throw herself onto the couch. Cece was completely unfazed by her dramatics. She strode over to the couch and perched herself on the edge of one of the cushions, rubbing Jess's back in soothing circles.

"Okay, what happened?" she asked, addressing the back of her friend's head.

"I'm so embarrassing!" Jess cried, her voice extremely muffled by the couch cushions. "Nick Miller talked to me and I sang about how boring class was!"

Cece didn't have the slightest idea who 'Nick Miller' was, but she made sympathetic noises and kept rubbing Jess's back. "I'm sure it wasn't that bad."

"No, it was. He looked at me like I'm crazy."

"I might have just the thing to cheer you up," Cece said, and Jess emerged at last from the depths of the couch.

"What?" she asked, pushing long strands of hair out of her face.

"A frat party!" Cece beamed at her. "Tonight at nine. I already texted Sam and he said he'd meet us there. Our first frat party this year, Jess! It'll be fun!"

"How is it that you don't even go to school here and you still get invited to more parties than me?" Jess complained, but Cece knew she wasn't really upset.

"Perks of being a model," she said, waving a hand. "Let's pick out something to wear!"

Jess allowed herself to be pulled into Cece's room. She didn't really feel like going to a frat party, but Cece thrived in that environment and she thought she could probably use a distraction. School had really been getting her down and her antics today were still heavy on her mind. Getting drunk and dancing to pop songs she didn't recognize sounded like just what she needed.

"Okay, so I think for you we should go with something like…slutty off-duty nurse," Cece said, rummaging through her closet. Jess burst out laughing.

"With an extra side of slutty," she insisted, and then paused. "What exactly does an off-duty nurse look like?"

Cece shrugged and held up a tiny bundle of red fabric that Jess supposed was a dress. "I thought we'd go for a medical thing for Sam. I'm sure he's into the hot nurse thing."

"I mean, who isn't? 'I hope you're ready for your sponge bath, Sir…'" Jess mussed her hair up, going for sexy bed-head, and she pouted at her friend in what she no doubt thought was a seductive manner. Cece patted her shoulder and told her to stop it.

"Save it for your boyfriend," she said, tweaking the end of one of Jess's curls. "Go put this on and I'll pick out some makeup. And Jess? No flats!"

"Got it!" Jess bounced off in the direction of her room, feeling much better. She was going to get a little drunk and a little weird and hopefully she and Sam would fool around and she could forget about embarrassing herself in front of the popular kid. No one cared how weird you got at a frat party – getting weird was the whole point. Or at least drunk.

She managed to pull the dress on, although it fought her every step of the way. It was short and tight and she was pretty sure that she'd have to wear a thong underneath…even though she was going for slutty off-duty nurse, she wasn't brave enough to forgo panties entirely. By the time she'd dug out some heels to go with it and returned to Cece's room, her friend had also changed and was working on her makeup. She was wearing something strapless and pink and she looked gorgeous. Jess whistled when she saw her.

"Watch out, frat boys," she said, and then howled like a cartoon wolf. Cece threw a pillow at her. No matter what, Jess knew she was lucky to have such a great best friend.

**-22-**

The party was in full swing by the time Jess and Cece arrived. It had spilled out into the front yard, where a bunch of guys were trying to surf a mattress down the hill that sloped down to the main road. The mattress didn't slide very well and every time someone wiped out a huge cheer went up. Jess winced as a guy face planted hard in the grass. Everyone else was chanting, "Winnie! Winnie!" which she guessed must be his nickname. He was slowly getting up when Cece pulled her into the house.

It was packed and they slid their way through the crowd toward the kitchen to get some drinks. There was a dark haired guy standing on the counter, setting some shots on fire. He downed several of them in rapid succession, then leapt down and yelled, "Parkour!" He was a bigger guy, but she could tell by his clothes that he used to be really heavy and had made a lot of progress losing weight. It made Jess proud of him even though he was a total stranger.

"Stop yelling 'parkour,' Schmidt! That's not parkour!" came a familiar voice, and Jess whirled around to see Nick Miller standing on the other side of the kitchen counter, shaking his head.

_Of course_ he was at this frat party, _of course_. And of course she hadn't even had a drink yet to fortify herself. She spun away, hoping he hadn't spotted her, and crashed right into Cece.

"He's here!" she hissed.

"Who's here?" Cece asked, glancing around the room.

"Nick Miller!" Jess grabbed Cece's wrist because she was holding drinks, trying to tug her out of the room before Nick realized that the weird girl from class was here, but before they could make their escape, the dark haired guy from the counter appeared and blocked the door.

"Hello, I'm Schmidt and you are a caramel goddess, would you like a shot?" he said to Cece.

"Oh God." Jess pulled her hair in front of her face to disguise herself as Schmidt took the drinks out of Cece's hand and passed her a shot glass.

"Okay, I'll do a shot," Cece said, and Schmidt cheered her on as she poured liquor down her throat. Jess peered around anxiously for another exit, but before she spotted one, she felt a hand close on her shoulder. She knew who it was without turning around.

"Hey, Sam's girlfriend." She turned to see Nick smirking at her.

"Hey, Nick Miller." She wouldn't meet his gaze.

"You're not some kind of crazy stalker, are you?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. "How do you know my name?"

"When we were 1Ls, Professor Walsh chewed you out for being a smartass. It made an impression," she said. Nick rubbed the back of his neck and nodded.

"Sounds like me." He shrugged. "Walsh is a dumbass."

"Succinctly put. I'm Jess. I mean, I _am_ Sam's girlfriend, but I'm also Jess." She stuck her hand out, and he stared at it with an eyebrow raised. Clearly handshakes weren't frat-party protocol, but a moment later he gave her a firm shake.

"Well, hi Jess. Good to meet you."

"You too. Hey, I'm sorry about earlier. I like to sing, so sometimes when I'm nervous it just kind of happens and—"

Before she could finish, a pair of warm arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her back against a familiar chest.

"Hey sexy," Sam murmured in her ear. She turned to put her arms around Sam and kiss him. Nick averted his eyes, looking a little awkward as they greeted each other with their tongues.

"Sam, this is Nick. Nick, this is Sam."

"The infamous Sam." Though Nick said it with a smile, he managed to make it sound kind of like an insult, and cocked her head in confusion at the coolness of his tone. "Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, you too," Sam said, nodding to him but also clearly dismissing him. "Come on, Jess. I like your dress…let's go back to my place so I can take it off of you."

"Oh, okay…" Jess glanced back at Nick. "Good to see you again."

"You too, Jess," he said, staring at her. There was something in his gaze, something a little predatory, but that was silly. They'd barely ever spoken to each other, so there was no way he was jealous…right?

She had to work very hard not to think about him as Sam drove her back to his dorm.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This catches up the story with what I've already put up on FF.net (same username). I'm still working on chapter 3 and this is already turning into a hellish week so it might be a few days before I put up the next bit, but I promise it's nothing more serious than a time crunch!
> 
> In other news, some jealous Nick to look forward to! This chapter went _way_ longer than I expected and I didn't get to any of the extra scenes I wanted to put in, but I hope you enjoy it anyway!
> 
> PS! There more than likely _will be_ a rating change in the future. I promise to give everyone a head's up when it's coming!

Jess was already awake by the time Cece stumbled out of her bedroom, clutching her head. She didn't even have her eyes open, and she was a little pale. Without a word, Jess poured her roommate some fresh coffee. She was in the middle of making veggie omelets for breakfast, although she wasn't at all sure Cece would be able to eat hers. She was definitely in the grip of a massive hangover. It was only Tuesday, but while Jess did have a class to attend, Cece probably had the day off.

She'd made Sam take her back to her apartment last night. They'd gone to his place and made out, there had definitely been some heavy petting, but in the end she said she needed to be up early. Sam had grumbled a little bit, but only a little bit. Then he'd taken her back to her place. After that, Jess had gone to her room and lied down, but she hadn't slept. She had a lot on her mind.

Typically, at this point in one's law school career, there were less courses to take…in fact, she was definitely going to need to find some sort of internship or something, so she could do some practical work in preparation for the Bar exam. She hadn't even looked yet, and she was starting to feel very, very guilty. Her father was helping her a lot with the tuition, and while they had definitely had to take out loans to cover costs, she was still wasting what cash he could spare. She needed to get serious. She couldn't procrastinate anymore.

Decision made, she'd gotten up way too early. She'd already showered, dressed, gone for a walk and rewritten the notes from her last lecture, and when she thought Cece might be close to waking, she'd started breakfast.

"How are you so perky?" Cece's words were more of a groan than anything else.

"I left that party way earlier than you." Jess was trying to speak quietly, but her friend still winced. "Looks like you had fun, you crazy party animal."

"Yeah...Schmidt kept feeding me shots." She managed to get one eye open to peek at Jess. "I didn't even know there was such a thing as a monkey brain shot, but there is. It's good. I had waaaayyyyyyy too many of them."

"So Schmidt has some bartending skills? I mean, it's good he's diversifying because his parkour isn't very good."

"Noooooo, Nick made the shots. He knows a lot of drinks, actually. Seriously Jess, I've never seen anyone drink like Schmidt before. It was like he just _couldn't get drunk_."

"Oh no, oh noooooo…Cece, you didn't try to out drink him did you? You know that you have the body mass of a swan…there's no way you're going to win against anyone but a fourth grader, and that's illegal."

Cece tried to swat at her, but she still only had one eye open and she missed by a mile. Jess pushed the mug into her limited field of vision and Cece made a noise of deep gratitude.

"Well, I'm happy you had fun."

Cece made a noise of agreement from deep within her coffee mug, and Jess grinned as she turned back to her skillet. She'd kind of wished she'd stayed at the party longer. A shot or two more and she might even have tried the mattress surfing, although she was generally pretty clumsy. She'd had a good time with Sam, but she didn't go to parties very often and she kind of felt like she'd missed out. She didn't usually want to go to them, especially the frat versions, but when she was tempted she usually had a great time. She needed that sort of chaotic fun, especially after deciding she'd be looking for an internship.

"Maybe we could go to another one," she said offhandedly. Cece moaned in protest, but that was probably due to her hangover. Without Jess to remind her to drink water, she usually overdid it.

"That guy, Schmidt…he's in two frats. He kept calling me his Shakti, so I'm sure he'll let me know when the next party is." She dragged herself to the coffee pot to refill her mug, mostly feeling her way to the correct counter. "Ughhhh but I hope it's not for a week or two."

"Okay, awesome. Good." Then she grinned devilishly at her best friend. "His Shakti, huh?"

"Stop it."

"I mean, he looked up Hindu goddesses to impress you."

"He glanced at a Wikipedia article. Don't make a big deal out of it."

"Okayyyy…but you guys _would_ be a cute couple…"

"Ugh, Jess, please. I'm begging you, stop."

" _Schmidt and Cece, you wanna touch his pee-pee…_ " Jess sang, and then ran into her bedroom as Cece erupted in rage behind her. She was still grinning when she headed to class, with Cece's vehement denials trailing after her.

**-22-**

Nick woke up in degrees. He knew he should get ready for class, but he really, _really_ didn't want to. There were days when he wasn't sure what the hell he'd been thinking when he'd enrolled here at UCLA. Usually all he had to do was think about his father and that firmed up his resolve, but there were times when that wasn't enough.

Well, one thing was for sure: he couldn't leave Schmidt here unchaperoned. God only knew what LA would do to him if Nick wasn't around to keep him grounded. And Winston had followed him here all the way from Chicago, so leaving without him would be the biggest dick move he could think of. He couldn't do that to a man he considered a brother…he couldn't do that to either of them. When Walt Miller wasn't motivation enough, Schmidt and Winston were. For now.

He opened his eyes with a deep frown, then heaved himself into a sitting position. Schmidt was already up and showered, and he was typing away on his laptop. He probably had some…marketing classes (Nick wasn't really too sure what kind of thing a marketing major studied) or else some theater thing going on later. He looked surprisingly perky for the amount of alcohol he'd consumed the night before. One of the first things that Nick and Schmidt had bonded over was Schmidt's ridiculous alcohol tolerance.

"How do you do it?" Nick asked, wincing as his slight headache caught up with him. "You had so many shots."

Schmidt shrugged, flashing a huge grin at his friend. "A magician never reveals his secrets."

"What does that even mean?" Nick covered his eyes for a second, trying to shut the light out. Why had he had so much to drink last night?

 _Oh yeah._ For some reason, seeing Jess and her boyfriend tickle each other's tonsils had put him in a foul temper, and he'd spent the rest of the party drinking beers and making fancy shots for Schmidt, Cece and some of the other girls at the party. Between his drinks, Winston's relative fame as a basketball player and Schmidt's need to be the center of attention, they'd gathered quite a crowd. It should have been a lot of fun, but he'd stayed in kind of a funk the whole night.

He just couldn't understand why Jessica Day was getting to him _now_. He'd noticed her long before this. In fact, he'd noticed her on their first day of class three years ago. With her constant cheerfulness and penchant for bright colors and pretty dresses, she was impossible not to notice, especially in a crowd of buttoned up and self-important law students. She still wore ribbons in her hair. He hadn't seen a girl do that since elementary school. So yeah, he'd definitely noticed her, but he hadn't really paid too much attention because, before this summer, he'd been with Caroline. And when Nick was with a girl, he had this habit of making her the center of his world. It sounded romantic, but it usually just led to arguments about him being too clingy.

He dragged a hand through his hair. Caroline had left him and Jessica Day was dating someone. He needed to get his shit together.

Before he could 'get his shit together,' however, a thought occurred to him. Schmidt was in _two_ frats. He knew a lot of different people on campus…he probably knew Sam, or at least someone else who knew Sam. He didn't know why he was so curious, but he didn't question it too closely.

"Hey, Schmidt…can I ask you a question?"

"Why Nick, you know I love it when you seek out my expertise. What can I help you with? Your hair? Clothes? Please tell me clothes, I can help you _so much_ with those plebeian rags you wear—"

"I don't need help with my clothes, Schmidt." He was already regretting opening his mouth, but in for a penny… "That guy that Cece's friend was with last night…the tall one. Do you know him?"

"Oh, Sam? Yeah, I know Sam. He's a med student. I think he's in his final year." Schmidt shrugged. "His cousin is in one of my frats."

"Sam, yeah. He's a _med student_?" Nick could feel himself frowning, but he couldn't stop it. He wasn't sure why he was so certain that Sam was a douchebag, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he would not like the guy if they got to know each other better.

"Yeah. Popular with the ladies. I personally don't see the appeal. I mean, sure: he's tall and has great teeth, but a med student? I'll be making twice as much money as him in marketing, just watch. And I won't have to expose myself to disgusting sick people to do it."

"You're a real humanitarian, Schmidt," Nick said with an eye roll. Schmidt didn't seem to catch the sarcasm, or else he ignored it.

Nick stood and wandered over to their snack drawer, looking for something to tide him over until he could find some breakfast. He glanced back at Schmidt's computer and then did a double-take.

"Why are you researching Hinduism, Schmidt?" he asked, although he thought he might already know the answer. His friend straightened up and lifted his chin, already defensive, and Nick knew before Schmidt spoke that his assumption was correct.

"I'll have you know that I've always had a special interest in Hinduism, Nicholas. I really appreciate how they respect cows, and how they, uh…how they believe in reincarnation and enlightenment and…"

Nick's look of disbelief was legendary. If looks could be sarcastic, this one was for sure.

"Sure, buddy. And it has nothing to do with Cece at all, right?"

"That's what they call a happy coincidence, or serendipity, if you will."

Nick wouldn't. "Whatever you say," he replied with a snort, and he went back to rummaging around for food. "Well, good luck, man. You're definitely going to need it."

Schmidt didn't even seem insulted, he just accepted his friend's well wishes and continued his research of Hinduism.

**-22-**

Nick caught up with Winston at the dining hall. He was considering his fruit choices a little more carefully than he probably needed to, and his lip was swollen from wiping out while mattress surfing. He was dressed for basketball practice, but then he was pretty much always dressed for basketball practice.

"I'd stick with the green thing," Nick said as he joined his friend.

"You mean the _apple_ , Nick?"

He shrugged. "Yeah. That."

"Man, you have been eating _way_ too much instant soup," Winston said, shaking his head in dismay at Nick's poor nutrition. He plunked the apple down on Nick's tray. "You need this more than me."

Nick didn't argue with him. They wandered over to the selection of baked goods together. "We should hang out later, you know? Do something fun. I'm bored of all this school stuff."

Winston laughed. "The semester literally _just_ started."

"School is for fools, man." He had a pretty impressive grumpy face going on. "Come on, basketball season hasn't kicked off yet."

"Hey, man…are you okay?" Winston asked. Nick never suggested going out. Not unless something was wrong. He'd known that Nick had been pretty lonely lately, in spite of his and Schmidt's best efforts. Over the summer, Nick's long-term girlfriend had broken up with him. He'd thought that Nick had finally started to get over her, but he was looking edgy and anxious again.

"Yeah man, I'm fine." Nick shrugged off Winston's concern way too quickly, but one thing Winston had learned over the years was not to push his friend too far. If pressed on emotional topics, Nick had two go-to moves: he either shut down or blew up. It had been that way since they'd been in middle school, when Nick's dad pretty much stopped coming home.

"Alright. Hey, I believe you. But…you know…if this is a Caroline thing…"

At the mention of his ex-girlfriend's name, Nick's face shut down completely. It was like watching a shutter snap closed. He turned his head away. "It's not a Caroline thing," he said shortly.

"Got it. Message received. Listen, if practice doesn't go too late, we'll go do something. Alright?"

Nick nodded and Winston relaxed a little bit. If he handled the situation carefully, he'd get to the bottom of what was bugging his friend tonight.

**-22-**

Jess had spent most of her day in the law library, poking old volumes at random and trying to ignore the fact that she definitely had not sought out some sort of internship. She wasn't sure what was holding her back, except maybe that once she was an intern it would all be too real. The door to her career dreams was rapidly closing, but she wasn't ready to give them up yet.

She'd texted Sam to see if he wanted to have dinner and hang out. She couldn't help but feel a little lonely when she considered her academic and professional future, and hanging out with him would definitely help her get her mind off of her troubles. She waited for two hours and then she'd been forced to accept that he was busy and she probably wouldn't see him that night.

It had been happening more often lately. She knew medical school was incredibly demanding so she did her best not to read into his long silences…and yet, despite her best efforts, she was feeling a little disappointed as she wandered to her car and drove home. Sam always texted her goodnight, and she knew as soon as he had some time he'd let her know.

Well, maybe she and Cece could open up a bottle of pink wine or have an impromptu dance party/sleepover in their living room. Sometimes they did that just for fun, especially when life was getting a little too adult for them.

Her hopes in that regard were dashed too. As soon as the door swung open, she heard voices and realized that her best friend already had company. What she was not prepared for was to walk into the living room and see Cece and her model friends surrounding Schmidt. He was grinning like he couldn't believe his luck, and he beckoned Jess in eagerly when he spotted her.

"Jess, welcome. Cece and her delightful friends were just telling me about their favorite underwear shoots. It's a show-and-tell. You're more than welcome to join!"

Jess just stared at him with wide blue eyes. His giant grin never faltered, and after a moment she shook herself.

"Hi everyone," she said, and then she disappeared into her bedroom. Okay, so tonight wasn't going at all like she'd hoped...but she was probably way overreacting to her problems. All she needed to do was go back into the living room, have some drinks and help the models tease Schmidt. It could be really fun! And most nights, she probably would have joined in without a second thought.

But tonight she couldn't. Instead, she changed clothes, grabbed her keys and left again with a quick, "Gonna go meet Sam! Don't be too hard on Schmidt!" as she walked out of the door. She didn't know where she was going yet, but that didn't seem all that important anymore.

**-22-**

She ended up at a local bar, one of the ones that was packed with her classmates more often than not. Tonight wasn't an exception: there were several people she recognized sitting around the room, usually grouped around TVs that were playing sports highlights from the day. She pushed her way up to the bar and ordered a sex on the beach, because it was one of the six drinks she knew the name of, and then glanced around the room. She wasn't sure what to do now that she was here. Maybe she should just drink her sex on the beach and then head back home and join Cece and her friends…

The bartender finished her drink and slid it toward her. She was paying for it when a large hand wrapped itself around her glass and pulled it away from her.

"Hey!" She whirled to face the alcohol thief and found herself eye to eye with Nick Miller. Her heart slammed into her rib cage.

"What the hell is this?" he asked, tearing his eyes away to look at her drink. He wrinkled his nose at it, but his lips were still curled up in the corners. He sniffed it. " _Yikes_."

"Give me my drink back, Miller," she growled, but when she lunged for it he pulled it high out of her reach, chuckling.

"I had you pegged as more of a daiquiri drinker, myself," he said. He held her drink out of her reach for a few more seconds, then passed it to her when she started to pout. Jess flushed and didn't answer: she _did_ enjoy the occasional frozen daiquiri, but she was not going to admit it to Miller, who probably drank bourbon straight or something like that.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, wrapping both hands securely around her glass. Nick's face soured for second and he turned slightly away.

"I was supposed to meet a friend, but…something came up. So it's just me tonight." He lifted his beer in a sad sort of salute, then blinked when Jess clinked her glass to his.

They drank in silence for a few moments, neither sure what to say to the other. It should have been more awkward than it was, but Nick was a good guy to be silent with. He looked over and shook his head as she scooted the little paper umbrella out of her way with her nose before drinking.

"So, law school, am I right?" she said at last.

He let out a long sigh. "Yeah," he replied, looking as unsatisfied with the prospect as she felt. He mussed up his hair with both hands. "Not as glamorous as everyone thinks."

"Do you have an internship?"

His response was a bitter laugh.

"Yeah." She stirred her drink. "Me either."

He gave her a sidelong look, no doubt surprised that she wasn't completely on top of and maybe a few steps ahead of curriculum. "You'll find something," he told her.

"Not if I don't start looking. Which I'm not. Looking, I mean." She tilted her head as she considered him. "I don't know why…I just keep putting it off and putting it off. But on the bright side, I am almost done with reorganizing my knitting supplies."

"I'm sorry, did you just say _knitting supplies_?"

"Oh yeah! I crochet a lot. I'm teaching my friend Cece. She's not very good but we just started."

"Wow." He blinked at his beer. "I'm not sure how I feel about that. I don't know anyone who knits that's under seventy."

"It's making a comeback," she informed him. He didn't look like he believed her.

"Knitting," he muttered under his breath, still sounding a little flabbergasted, and they went back to drinking for a while. Jess was just finishing her sex on the beach when a guy slid up next to her and ordered her a second one without asking.

"Hey," he said. "I've seen you around."

"Hey," Jess replied, smiling up at the stranger despite feeling mildly annoyed by the intrusion. "I'm Jess."

"I'm David." He paid for the drink. Jess hesitated to accept it. She could feel Nick's gaze on her and tried to ignore it. She didn't really feel like talking to this David guy, but he'd already paid for it…

"After you finish that, do you want to get out of here?" he asked, interrupting her internal debate.

"Uh, no I don't think so. Thanks…but…I have class in the morning and…"

"Oh come on, honey. Don't be like that. I bought you a drink…let's have a little fun tonight." David's smile was still plastered on his lips, but there was an edge to it now.

"No thanks." She tried to push the drink toward him, deciding now to turn it down. David's expression had finally shifted to annoyance.

"You're at a bar on Tuesday night. You let me pay for your drink. And now you're acting like you don't know what signals you're sending out? Don't be an ungrateful bitch—"

He barely got to finish the word, because at that second Nick's fist crashed into his mouth. Jess hadn't noticed him getting up and circling around, but her heart leaped with relief as he moved between her and David. He was breathing hard, and she could see his fists were still balled, ready to punch the guy again if he hadn't gotten the picture.

"What the _hell?!_ " David's lips were bleeding and he'd stumbled back into the people behind him.

"Call her a bitch again." Nick's voice was glacier cold. Jess realized that he actually wanted to hit the guy again and it made a shiver run down her back.

"Hey, take it outside!" The bartender already had a phone in his hands in case he needed to call the cops. Jess put her hand on Nick's shoulder.

"Come on, let's just go. I'm done anyway," she said. Nick reached into his pocket and then slapped down some cash on the bar top for his drink, but his eyes never left David. Finally, urged on by her gentle tugs, he nodded and they walked out.

"Bastard," Nick snapped. "Jesus, some guys are just…I'm sorry Jess, I just couldn't let him—"

"It's okay." She was examining his swelling knuckles. "Really, thank you. No one's ever…it's okay."

She looked up from his hand to find him staring at her, and a strange whirling, falling sensation swept through her at the intensity in his eyes. Her lips parted a little and his gaze dropped to them, just for a second. Did he want to kiss her? Because she wanted him to, wanted it more than she'd ever wanted a kiss before—

 _Sam_. Sam didn't deserve that. She dropped her gaze and the spell was broken, at least a little bit.

"You should ice that hand," she told him.

"Yeah." He flexed his fingers but didn't move.

"I should go." If she looked up into his eyes again, she might forget why she'd hesitated. She stared at his boots instead.

"Okay. You okay to drive?"

"Yeah, I…I can call Cece, so…"

"Great. Okay. Yeah. See you around, Jess."

"See you around, Nick," she replied. He hesitated, just one long pause that felt like it lasted a year, and then he turned and started walking away.

"Thank you!" she yelled after him, wishing she had some better way of expressing her gratitude for his actions on her behalf. He lifted a hand in acknowledgement but before she could call out anything else, he ducked around the building and disappeared into the shadows.

With a huge sigh, Jess turned to her car. She climbed into the passenger side, locked the doors, and called Cece for a ride. While she waited, she couldn't help but wonder just what the hell was happening in her life? And how was she going to get herself back on track?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! If you're interested, sometimes I post little previews up upcoming chapters on my Tumblr, **fictionalwhims**...along with lots of other New Girl stuff. No matter what, though, the full and final chapters will always be posted here. Hope you like chapter three!

Although Jess had told Cece all the details of her encounter with Nick while her friend drove her home—and Cece had definitely wanted to hear the details of that punch, more than once—she was still having trouble believing it wasn't all a dream when she woke up the next morning. After all, no one ever got rescued that way, not outside of television land. And the _fury_ she'd seen in Nick's eyes, where had that come from? Protecting her may have triggered his violence, but there had to be more to it than that. There had been such chaotic joy in him at the possibility for a real fight, and it had been with visible reluctance that he'd allowed her to pull him away.

Jess didn't approve of violence…but her reaction to the events of the night before was not disgust. In fact, the memory of Nick's stormy eyes and quick, brutal reflexes sent a thrill through her. She gave a guilty sigh as she got ready for the day. Some pacifist she was turning out to be.

By the time she'd finished getting dressed, Sam had texted her good morning. She was just typing out a reply which featured a lot of happy emojis when she got a second message from him. Her smile evaporated. He would be busy for most of the week while he prepared for a practical exam. They probably wouldn't see each other until the following weekend. She was really starting to miss him, but the exams were out of his control. After a moment she finished her message, wishing him good luck on the test and adding a couple more smiley faces just so he'd know she wasn't upset.

She wandered out into the living room hoping to see a friendly face, but it was silent. Other than a few empty bottles left over from the show-and-tell the night before, there was no sign of Cece, Schmidt or any of the models. Feeling suddenly (and she knew a little irrationally) abandoned, she gathered her things for class and headed to campus.

**-22-**

She got to her lecture and pulled out her notes. Phone on silent. Pens and highlighters ready. Everything was normal…until Nick took the seat beside her.

Their eyes met briefly and her heart jolted. But he didn't say a word. It was almost as though he didn't remember socking some guy in the mouth for calling her a bitch less than twelve hours ago. He gave her a small nod, then settled more comfortably in his seat, and that was it. She could hear a couple of students behind them whispering about it, mostly because Nick never sat beside anyone, but he just stared down at the professor as the lecture got started.

 _What is_ with _this guy?_ she thought, her confusion translating itself into anger. All of a sudden he was everywhere she was, acting like a scruffy, beer drinking version of a guardian angel, and she had no idea how she was supposed to respond. On top of that, he seemed perfectly content to sit beside her without a word, oblivious to the fact that she wanted to tear her hair out because she couldn't figure out what he wanted from her.

 _Nick freaking Miller._ Her inner voice was scathingly sarcastic. She took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself and turned her eyes toward the front of the room. She could do silent if she had to. He wasn't going to get under her skin. He just wasn't.

**-22-**

By the end of class, he was _definitely_ under her skin.

**-22-**

By the end of the following week, she was nearly ready to crack. She'd barely heard from Sam and she'd endured two more silent lectures with Nick sitting next to her, their arms brushing when she wasn't careful to avoid touching him. He would give her a little nod or shoot her a smile or make faces at the professor, but he never communicated out loud. As soon as the lecture over, he grabbed his stuff and wandered off to wherever he was going next, leaving a confused and increasingly frustrated Jess in his wake.

A couple of the other girls in class were now giving her dirty looks. She knew there were a few rumors circulating about their sudden closeness, but there was _nothing going on._

Worse, she had a feeling he knew exactly how much he was infuriating her. That was probably the fun of it. Well, Nick Miller's amusement at her expense wasn't going to last much longer. When the lecture was over, she was going to follow him and figure out just what the hell he was up to.

When their class ended, Nick grabbed his stuff and headed for the door as usual. Jess stuffed all of her notebooks and pens back into her bag as quickly as she could and then took off after him, cursing his head start and longer legs. She caught sight of his flannel moving across campus and followed him, forcing herself not to run. She would not _run_ after Nick Miller. No way. Never.

He headed toward a large grassy area and met up with Winston from the frat party. Then, while Jess was still pushing her way through a mass of students to join them, Schmidt also appeared. She could hear him talking about Cece as she got closer.

"Guys, Cece is perfection. You can't just _ask out_ perfection. I need a real plan – and before we get started, I should point out that Nick, as a recent dumpee and the owner of that flannel, you should not be allowed to contribute."

"We should really come up with a system to penalize you when you're being an asshat," Nick replied, and Winston burst out laughing. Schmidt flapped his hands at them.

"Focus! How am I going to come up with a foolproof plan to ask Cecelia out if you two clowns keep distracting me with my miniscule flaws?"

"You could just try, 'Hey Cece, I think you're a cool cat, can I take you out to a restaurant that definitely is not an Indian restaurant because every guy takes you to Indian restaurants on the first date?'" Jess suggested, coming to a halt between Winston and Schmidt.

"AH!" Schmidt jumped at the sound of her voice and clutched his heart. "Where did you come from? And also, are you completely sure that will work?"

"I guarantee that if you suggest any other type of food, especially sushi, she will probably agree to go out with you." Jess stared at him. "But if you objectify her or upset her, she'll probably kill you with her bare hands and ask me to help her hide your body."

"Cecelia…so fierce. So exciting." Schmidt's grin was a mile wide and for a moment, Jess was so weirded out by his excitement at his possible murder that she'd forgotten why she'd followed Nick in the first place. But then she remembered and spun back to face him. Before she could say a word, he gestured to Winston.

"I don't think you've met Winnie yet. Winston, this is Jess. She's in my general law lectures. Jess, this is Winston, he's on the basketball team."

"I ride the bench a lot," Winston replied, shaking Jess's hand. "You're Cece's friend."

"Lifelong best friend and roommate, in fact! Nice to meet you, Winston."

"Winston was the friend I was supposed to meet the other night," Nick explained.

"Yeah, thanks for taking care of Nick for me." Winston clapped him on the back. "I got mugged."

"You got _what_?" Jess stared at him with concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It was some guys from USC's team. We're rivals and they thought it would be funny. Upside, though: I was rescued by a very pretty cop and her partner. She swooped in and made the guys give me my stuff back, threatened to call their coach…yeah, she was pretty cool. Her name is Aly. I think I might love her but it's probably too soon to tell."

 _Apparently there was a lot of rescuing going on that night,_ Jess thought, but she didn't say that. Instead she said: "I believe in love at first sight."

"Of course you do," Nick muttered under his breath.

"Sorry, what was that?" She was glaring lightning bolts at him.

"I said, 'of course you do.' I bet you also sing while the forest animals get you dressed in the morning." He shrugged. "It's not a bad thing, it's just a little naïve."

"I am _not_ naïve."

The disbelief on his face spoke clearly without him having to say a word, and Jess finally felt her temper snap.

"Can I talk to you?" she hissed, but she'd already grabbed his arm and was hauling him away from his friends. Schmidt's eyes were wide but he was cracking up, clearly enjoying the sight of Nick being chastised by a tiny blue-eyed elf person. Even Winston looked pretty amused as Jess dragged Nick out of earshot.

"Okay, what is going on? Because out of nowhere you are saving me from douchebags and sitting next to me in class, but you won't _talk_ to me and from your earlier insults I think it's pretty clear that you find me a little annoying, so _why_ are you following me?"

"You followed me!" he shot back, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No deflecting!" She shoved a disapproving finger in his face. "I'm a law student too, that won't work on me."

"Look, Jess, it's no big deal. If you don't want me to sit with you, I won't. Okay?" He pushed her hand away from him and stared at her for another moment, his eyes darkening as he studied her expression. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, or if he was mad or disappointed or annoyed or maybe all three. It bothered her that she was having so much trouble reading him.

"I don't care if you sit next to me in class, Nick, I just want to know where all of this is coming from," she told him. He glanced away, and she could see the muscles in his jaw clench as he tried to come up with an answer for her. He was not, she could tell, accustomed to talking about his feelings. It took him a long time to decide what to say, and when he finally did look back down at her, she was surprised by the sudden shift in mood. He looked very vulnerable, but also tense: ready to snap his defenses back up in a second if he needed to.

 _Wounded,_ she thought, feeling herself softening. _He's too good at protecting himself. He's been hurt._

"I like hanging out with you, okay Jess? You don't make me feel like a loser for not being on top of stuff. I'm starting to hate law school and it seems like you get that and you're not judging me for it or constantly nagging me to work harder. I can relax and I know that you understand because you kind of hate it too." He ran a hand through his hair, tousling it further, and she could see the little boy he must have been once underneath the scruff and the anger.

He just seemed so damn lost, and she was a sucker for that. She could feel herself becoming attached already, wanting to help him. How did he do that? She had always been trusting but this was ridiculous.

"Okay," she said. She tried to resist touching his arm and failed. She gave his bicep a reassuring squeeze and tried not to notice how the muscle there didn't give much under her fingers.

"Okay? That's it?" He seemed surprised by her willingness to accept his answer…or maybe by her willingness to accept him.

"Yeah, okay. I get that. And I'd like us to be friends. I am," she added as he began to smile, "probably going to nag you about schoolwork a little. But only because I've always wanted to be a teacher and therefore I feel it's my duty. But okay."

"Alright." He nodded, then blew out a long breath she hadn't realized he'd been holding. "I'm gonna…go get Schmidt under control before he names his and Cece's future children."

"Please do that," Jess agreed, laughing. He smiled at her.

"See you around, Jess." He jogged back to his friends and she waved goodbye to them before heading home. She was too wound up to go to her next class, and anyway, someone had to warn Cece about her impending motherhood.

**-22-**

Cece and Jess made s'mores over their gas stove that night, propped in dining room chairs and wearing robes. Cece's robe was silky and sexy and Jess's robe was fluffy and pink, but they both had silly slippers on. Twenty minutes before, they'd painted each other's nails and flipped through some magazines, looking for Cece or her friends in the glossy photos. Then Jess explained her conversation with Nick, trying to leave out just how magnetic she found him.

"He just really seems to need someone to care about him, you know? It's like he's a wounded animal, and yes he's wild and no you can't take care of him forever, but it's kind of up to you to help him out until he can, I dunno, hunt on his own again," she said, waving her marshmellow stick around for emphasis.

"Okay, Jess, but be careful. I know you, remember? I watched you try to keep every stray animal you ever found when we were kids." Cece wrapped her free arm around Jess. "You have a really great boyfriend, and he might not understand why you need to help. Just don't forget that."

"I won't. But Cece…I've never had more than one or two friends before and they've all been girls. I'm kind of excited."

Cece groaned. "Please tell me we're not taking in all the misfits."

"Not _all_. Just…three, maybe?" Jess shot Cece her most winning smile as her best friend shook her head despairingly.

"Alright, but that's it!"

"You can't fool me. I know you have a soft spot for Schmidt." She had the distinct pleasure of watching Cece's cheeks flush at being called out. "It's okay, you know. There is something weirdly, annoyingly charming about him."

"Most of the stuff that comes out of his mouth is _so offensive_." Cece looked genuinely confused, but Jess could tell it was because someone was legitimately getting under her skin. She didn't let that happen very often. "I dunno, though…he just seems to really like who I am, not just what I look like."

"He likes what you look like too."

"Trust me, I know." Cece rolled her eyes, then laughed. "But for some reason, it doesn't bother me when he compliments me, because I know that he also likes _me_."

Jess gave a happy little sigh and Cece pushed her shoulder a little.

"Try not to start planning my wedding, okay?"

"I definitely don't have to, because Schmidt might already have that covered," Jess replied with a laugh. "All I have to do is plan the bachelorette party. You wanted the theme to be whips and chains, right?"

"Oh God…" Cece covered her face with her hands while Jess finished making their s'mores.

**-22-**

One thing Cece had said stuck with Jess long after they'd gone to bed. She sighed and rolled over onto her side, pulling her covers up under her chin and staring at her phone. She needed to make a better effort with Sam. He'd been so busy lately and she hadn't really tried to see him. But now, in the dark, she felt lonely. She sent him a text asking to meet up the next day. She'd have to get up early so she could bake him some oatmeal raisin cookies.

Her phone beeped: Sam missed her and wanted to see her too. Then 'goodnight' with some hearts.

He was a good boyfriend. A very good boyfriend. Cece was absolutely right: she needed to be careful and make sure she didn't lose him.

She shoved the lingering image of Nick's warm brown eyes to the back of her mind and closed her eyes tightly. It took her a long time to go to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming up: Jess's friendship with Nick is going to cause some jealousy from Sam, and Schmidt prepares to wow Cece with their first date...as well as a bunch of other good stuff, I promise!


	4. Chapter 4

Cece was leaving the apartment just as Jess was coming into the living room. She disappeared after a quick goodbye hug and a promise to catch up in the evening, and Jess took her time getting ready in the empty apartment. She mixed up a batch of oatmeal raisin cookies for Sam and took her time picking out a dress and doing her hair. Not long after the oven was hot, the warm scent of baking cookies filled the living space. It was just about the perfect start to the day, and to top it off the day was promising to be sunny and cool. Often late summers in Los Angeles were miserably hot, so she was happy with the brief respite.

Two hours later she was on her way to school with the cookies tucked in her bag. She was feeling peaceful with the world, her struggles from the week before now long forgotten. She parked her car and began the long trek over to Wilson Plaza where Sam was probably already waiting for her. She hummed all the way there, then broke out in a smile and a light jog when she spotted her boyfriend. He scooped her up and dropped a peck on her upturned lips.

"It feels like it's been a long time since I've seen you," Jess said. "And last week was so crazy."

"Tell me about it." Sam rolled his eyes. "I know I won't be sleeping a lot when I do my residency, but I feel like I'm already getting a head start on that part."

She handed him the cookies and he grinned at her. She knew he loved them, and he wasted no time in popping the top off of the tupperwear container and digging in. Figuring now was as good a time as any, she launched into an explanation of her earlier frustrations about Nick and how she had come out of the situation with three new friends.

"Hey, that sounds great…but if that Nick guy gives you any more trouble, let me know, okay? I don't like the idea of him messing with you. Especially not with all the work you've got ahead of you this year." Sam's smile had faded into a look of vague concern. "Cece and the models distract you enough as it is."

"Don't worry, I can handle it," Jess assured him, wincing internally. It was true, she had been very distracted lately, but that had nothing to do with her new friends. Or…well, not much to do with them.

"Alright. I trust you." Sam was smiling again. "We should all have a get together one of these days. I wanna meet them."

"Because they're all guys?" she asked, nudging her elbow into his side. He grinned at her, unabashed.

"That's exactly why," he agreed, but he was laughing as he said it and Jess laughed with him. It didn't occur to her that he might be jealous, despite Cece's warnings from the night before. Instead, still feeling impossibly happy, she spent the last of the morning with Sam before heading to the library to look at some internship possibilities. Maybe she'd even apply for one…

**-22-**

Jess definitely did not apply for an internship, although she did find a few possibilities that didn't look too terrible. She left the library and headed back across campus, hoping to grab something to eat before her next class. The sun was still shining brightly overhead, and for a moment she wished she were headed to the beach instead of back inside—and then someone shouted her name.

"Jess!"

She turned and spotted Schmidt jogging over to her. He had done something with his hair, smoothing it out with some sort of product and slicking it back. It looked nice on him. She smiled as he approached.

"Hey, Schmidt. I like your hair."

"I invested in a very high-end brand of sculpting gel. It not only styles and holds, it hydrates. And it smells like a piña colada," he told her. "I'm throwing a party tonight. I've lost 75 pounds and I'm almost at my goal weight so it's time to test out my new bod."

The wording was terrible—it conjured up all sorts of mental images she wasn't sure she could get rid of. She opened her mouth to say so, but Schmidt cut her off, trying to look cool and instead just looking very jumpy and a little bit bug-eyed. "Maybe you could invite Cece and some of her friends. It'll be chill. Here's the address to the bar."

He passed her a piece of paper with the address printed in very precise handwriting. Jess tucked it away in her bag, then glanced up at him, eyes slightly narrowed.

"Are you going to ask Cece out tonight?" she asked him.

His face cycled through a number of emotions very quickly. Finally he settled on dignified outrage.

"When I ask Cece out, it will be a moment to be remembered throughout history. It will be glorified in verse, like when Romeo first saw Juliet, Tristan and Isolde…other…poetic…couples…Anyway, it will not be at some dirty, common bar while my friends sip sub-par cocktails and grind to old pop songs."

"That's…uh…right. I'm just going to wish you good luck. But hurry up before someone else asks her out. She likes you so don't overthink it. I have to get going or I'm going to be late for class." She waved at him and started walking again; if she was quick she could still grab a snack or something.

Schmidt followed her. "What do you mean, she likes me? Did she say that? Did she say that she likes me? How did she say it? Is it like a pity like? Or like, a like like? Jessica?"

_Oh God_. She gave up on the snack idea. Her only hope now was to lose him in class.

**-22-**

By the time Jess made it home that afternoon, she was in a bit of a panic. She hadn't been invited to many parties in her life, meaning that her party closet was pretty bare. She was going to need some help from Cece. It was her lucky day too, because Cece's photo shoot had been in the morning and she was already home. Nadia was there as well, perched on their couch and flipping through daytime television with a bored look on her face. Cece was in the kitchen making a very bland salad.

"Cece, hi! Guess what? _I_ got invited to a party!" Jess did a little dance which ended in a full spin. She was glad their kitchen floor was tile or it wouldn't have come off so smoothly.

"That's great, Jess!"

"Well, I mean, _we_ got invited to a party. It's tonight. Schmidt is throwing it for himself to celebrate his new body. I think we should go!"

For a moment, she thought Cece was going to say no: she had on her very careful face which Jess knew was supposed to keep her feelings from being hurt. Her heart plummeted a little (why was she so excited about this?), but then her friend blew out a quick sigh.

"You know what? Why not? It's the first time you've been invited to a party. Let's do it." She gave Jess a quick hug.

"Your model friends are invited too, he was pretty clear about that."

"I bet."

"I need help…I don't have any more party clothes." Jess paused. "I could find my overalls and—"

"Jess, we talked about those overalls." Cece's hands were on her hips. "Why didn't you burn them like I asked you to?"

"They just go so perfectly with my gag teeth…"

Cece rolled her eyes. "Come on, Nadia…we've got to make Jess presentable."

"Is impossible task. But TV suck so why not?" Nadia rose from the couch in one long, perfect movement that Jess found so intimidating. Then the models led her into Cece's room and she spent the next two hours being made-over and singing about it.

**-22-**

The bar was absolutely packed. Nick took a huge swig of beer and tried not to let the crush of Schmidt's fellow frat brothers get to him. The only reason he hadn't made his escape was the fact that Schmidt had struggled so hard to lose weight. He respected what his friend had been through and wanted to let him know that yes, he was proud of him. Of course, he hadn't managed to get the words out yet. Voicing his emotions had never been a strongpoint. Instead, he hoped his genuine happiness for Schmidt was evident in the fact that he stayed at this party even though frat boys made him want to red-out with rage and break things.

He and Winston stuck close to Schmidt as he greeted people, and the marketing classes had definitely paid off because Nick had to admit his friend was pretty decent at networking. He was glad that Winston was not: they could at least hang out together when Schmidt was busy with other guests.

"I did not know Schmidt had this many friends," Winston said, nursing his beer and scanning the crowd.

"I did. But I also heard him say he'd heartlessly abandon them on the road to greatness if necessary, so maybe 'friends' isn't the right word," Nick replied, and Winston laughed.

"Man I hope some more girls show up. Not that I would talk to them—you know I can't talk to them—but just because it would vastly improve the scenery."

It was Nick's turn to laugh. "I think he really expects that model to show up—"

_"CECELIA!"_ Schmidt's booming joy cut him off, and just like that, his friend was pushing across the room toward the entrance to the bar. A crowd of women had just walked in and Cece really was at the front of the group. Along with Jess. Nick's eyes searched through the new group, but there was no Sam in sight. He let out a small sigh of relief.

"Finally," Winston said. "And if Schmidt could get her to show up, maybe I've got a chance of getting Aly to drop by."

"Worth a shot," Nick murmured. Should he go over there? He'd just about convinced himself he shouldn't when her eyes connected with his across the room. They were impossibly blue, and they widened when she saw that he'd already been staring at her. They both began squeezing through the crowd to get to each other.

"Nick! Hi! I think you and Winston are the only other people here I recognize," Jess said as she got close.

"Same," he told her. "Honestly that's okay with me. These guys are all talking about social media I don't use."

She laughed, those electric eyes still glued to his face, and his chest felt a little tighter. What the hell did she do to him? Why was it so easy and so goddamn hard to talk to her at the same time? And why did she have to wear little dresses that made him wonder if her skin felt as soft as it looked? Her legs were a mile long and she had these great curves and dammit, he was just a man: he couldn't have stopped himself from taking a good hard look no matter what, even with the words "she has a boyfriend," running through his mind's eye like a marquee.

"You look great," he told her. She flushed and gave him a huge smile, and he knew he was one hundred percent screwed here. He just had no idea what to do about it.

**-22-**

An hour later, after encouraging Winston to text Aly and trying to remind Schmidt not to overthink asking Cece out, Jess found herself sitting on the hood of Nick's car. He was resting back against the windshield, looking up at the night sky. She was sure they'd dent the hood, but he'd shrugged off her concerns. The bodywork wasn't exactly in mint condition, so she took a breath and followed suit, leaning back until she came in contact with the cool glass.

The night sky wasn't especially spectacular. This was Los Angeles, after all: the light pollution seriously diminished the view of the stars. But then, Portland's skies had usually been overcast, so she'd take the few stars she could get. She tried to think of something to say. When he'd asked her if she'd wanted to get out of the bar because it was hot and stuffy and packed, she'd agreed instantly, and now she realized that being alone with him had her tongue twisted into knots.

"No Sam tonight?" Nick's voice was oh, so casual.

"He's got a study group. He might come after." She wriggled her shoulders against the car, wondering why that excuse felt so tired.

"Yeah, Schmidt said he was in school to be a doctor. Sounds like a ton of work."

"It is, but he's good at it." Why did it make her feel so bad to talk about Sam? She loved to talk about Sam. He was going to save lives and he was a great boyfriend—but tonight she found herself desperately searching for ways to change the subject.

"Do you have…anyone?" she asked.

Nick's laughter was just a touch off. "No." He didn't elaborate.

She glanced at him. He'd always been kind of the outcast. He was aloof and scruffy. His nose had definitely been broken before, and no one had trouble picturing him in the fight that had probably caused it. She knew from their classmates that he was good at keeping people at arm's distance and that his upbringing had been a far cry from the middle-class suburbia that had characterized her own. And he seemed to be at ease with her. He didn't brush her off or shut her down. And Jess couldn't seem to resist him: it was like a physical tugging sensation whenever he was around, drawing her closer when she knew it was better to stay away.

"Exes?" she asked, keeping her tone gentle. He huffed a little, his shoulders curling up toward his ears while his lips turned down. She didn't think he was going to answer, and then…

"Yeah. Just one in college. I was with her for five years. She's why I came all the way from Chicago. We were together in high school and when she applied to UCLA, I did too. Winston did the same thing. Then, over the summer…it was just over." There was a deep hurt in his eyes when he glanced at her. "She just…didn't want me anymore, I guess. She never really told me why."

"I'm sorry." The need to touch him was making her fingers twitch against the hood of the car. She balled her hands into fists. "That's terrible, you deserve so much better than that."

He was silent for a few long minutes, considering that. Then a wicked little smile curled up one corner of his mouth. "Well, I guess it hasn't been that hard to live without her taking pictures of every single meal. Or leaving her wet towel on the bed while she got ready…or never cleaning her hairbrush…"

Jess laughed, warming to the game. "My ex, Spencer…he never cleaned his hairbrush either. He had hair to his shoulders and he brushed it constantly but he never, ever cleaned the brush. Annoying!"

"Yeah, and Caroline—my ex—she _never_ used to pick a restaurant. And then she'd complain when I did! Like, c'mon woman, just tell me what you want!" He was looking at her, a smile lighting up his eyes. She could see he felt liberated to be speaking about his old girlfriend this way.

"Spencer used to give me these long explanations about how we totally need to save the planet, which we do, but then he wouldn't even water our plants."

"Caroline used to want a dog, but she wanted some hypoallergenic, pathetic little thing she could carry around in her purse…that's not a real dog!"

They went back and forth that way for a long time, trading stories about their former partners. Jess' cheeks were starting to hurt from laughing so much and Nick had somehow managed to scoot closer without her noticing. They were pressed together, side to side, and she didn't scoot away because he was so warm. He'd pulled a six pack from the trunk of his car and they drank as they talked. She was feeling comfortably fuzzy around the edges, buzzing from the drinks and the laughter and the company. This was much better than that crowded bar or knitting in her living room alone.

She looked at him while he talked, gesturing up toward the sky as he told a story about him and Winston when they had lived in Chicago, and warmth flooded her. Nick was great—he was really amazing. All those prickly edges had been hiding a guy that was funny and loyal and, in his own weird way, thoughtful. And if she were being truly honest with herself, he was pretty sexy. The shoulders and the hair and the stubble and those devastating eyes...yeah. It was all working for him. It was all working for _her_.

He glanced over and caught her staring. She knew her cheeks were flushed and her pulse leaped when his expression instantly changed. He wasn't laughing anymore. His eyes went all stormy and turbulent and his gaze dropped to her lips. He turned his body toward hers, closing in on her but leaving her an escape. She was taking rapid, shallow breaths as his scent washed over her, spicy and masculine.

"Jess," he said, all gravelly and low, and she wanted to prop herself up on her elbows and kiss him so badly that resisting it was a little bit painful.

His fingers brushed her hair, a strangely gentle touch considering the way his eyes were burning down at her. Her heart was pounding now as those same fingers left her hair and traced over her arm, leaving goosebumps in their wake.

"Nick, I…" Just an inch or two closer and he'd be kissing her…a twist of her torso and they'd be pressed against each other chest-to-chest. She wanted it so much, wanted _him_ so much, it was becoming too hard to remember why she shouldn't—

Her phone vibrated so loudly against the hood of the car that she jumped and let out a yelp. She scrambled off of it and somehow managed to keep her balance on shaky legs. Nick sat up, watching as she fumbled with her phone with a deep frown on his face.

"Hello?" she asked, wincing at how breathless she sounded.

"Hey, Jess. I'm on my way over…are you okay?" Sam's voice was filled with concern and she felt like the worst person on earth.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I, uh…had to run outside so I could hear you. I'm really excited that you're coming!"

"Me too, babe. I'll see you in a few minutes."

"See you soon," she said, and ended the call with a numb finger. She glanced back at Nick, but he'd turned his face away. He expression was as dark and closed as she'd ever seen it.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…that was my fault…"

"Stop it, Jess." There was steel in his voice, a warning not to push it with him right now. A pang went through her: so this is what it was like to be shoved away by Nick Miller. She opened her mouth to say something…and then turned away. She had taken a few steps back toward the bar when he called out to her.

"You said you don't want to be in law school. What do you want, Jess?"

It was such an odd question after what had just happened that she stopped and looked back at him. "I want to be a teacher, like I said."

He finally met her gaze. His eyes were molten and hard to read. "You let people tell you what you should do or what they need you to do. But you can't live like that forever. You gotta push back a little bit. You have to go after what you want, Jess."

Her stomach twisted hard. "And what do you want?"

He laughed darkly as he climbed off of the hood of his car. "Nothing I can have," he told her, and got into the vehicle. A second later his headlights washed over her as he drove away, and she suddenly realized how cold she was. She dragged her feet toward the bar. She'd find Cece and have a drink and wait for Sam…and try to forget what had just happened if she could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally I was going to have Sam arrive while Nick and Jess were having their moment on the car...but then a different idea came to mind. We'll get some Sam-related angst/jealousy in the next chapter for sure! And that rating change is creeping closer too!


End file.
